Lemon Curd Layer Cake From 'The Ginger & White Cookbook'

Emma Kobolakis
Lemon Curd Layer Cake From 'The Ginger & White Cookbook'
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  • Yield:Serves 8
  • Active time:35 minutes
  • Total time:1 hour
This recipe appears in:
Lemon Curd Layer Cake From 'The Ginger & White Cookbook'

[Photograph: Jenny Zarins]

Light layers of sponge cake sandwich bright, citrusy lemon curd in this cake from The Ginger & White Cookbook. The cakes bake up quickly and cleanly in springform pans, while the curd comes together on the stove. It's simple, but doesn't look that way, which is sure to impress a teatime guest.

Why this recipe works:


  • The lemon curd is prepared in a pot, sans bain-marie, so the cake comes together quickly and easily.

  • The dessert is meant to echo a childhood snack of lemon curd spread on bread, and it does that well, with a grown-up sponge cake in place of soft slices.

Excerpted from The Ginger & White Cookbook by Tonia George, Emma Scott & Nicholas Scott (Mitchell Beazley). Copyright (c)2014 . Photographs by Jenny Zarins.

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
  • 1 1/8 cups superfine sugar
  • Finely grated zest 
of 2 lemons
  • 4 free-range eggs at room temperature, beaten
  • 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting
  • Strawberries or blueberries, for decoration
  • For the curd filling:
  • 3 large free-range egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup superfine sugar
  • Finely grated zest 
of 3 lemons and 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 stick unsalted butter

Directions

  1. 1.

    Start by making the curd filling. Put the egg yolks 
and sugar in a small, heavy-based saucepan and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Beat in the lemon zest, juice, and butter, then place over a low heat for 
5–10 minutes, stirring constantly until thick. Allow 
to cool, then cover and chill until needed.

  2. 2.

    Preheat the oven to 360ºF. Grease 3 9-inch diameter springform cake pans and line the bases with nonstick parchment paper.

  3. 3.

    Place the butter, sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl and 
beat until really light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs a little at a time. If the mixture looks curdled, add 1 tablespoon of the flour. Finally, fold in the remaining flour. You 
will be left with a really thick mixture, but don’t be tempted to add any liquid.

  4. 4.

    Spoon the mixture into the prepared pans and smooth out the top. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the cakes 
are shrinking away from the sides of the pans and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

  5. 5.

    Turn out the cakes onto a wire rack, peel off the paper and allow to cool. When cool, spread 1 sponge with half the lemon curd, place another sponge upside down on top, and spread the remaining curd on that. Top with the final sponge cake, dust with powdered sugar, and decorate with fresh strawberries or blueberries.

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